Team India suffered an opening-game defeat at the hands of Australia in the AFC Asian Cup at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Saturday as the Socceroos posted a 2-0 win in the continental tournament.
Jackson Irvine found the back of the net for the Socceroos with a 50th-minute opener before Jordan Bos doubled their lead in the 72nd minute of the game to assure a win for Australia.
Sunil Chhetri had the best chance of the game to open the game in a first half and ended level as he put a header off the target in the opening 20 minutes of the game!
Australia were dominant throughout the first period while India seemed to have held their lines well. But, the resistance was broken in the 50th minute as Irvine found the back of the net with a left-footed half-volley from inside the box after Gurpreet Singh Sandhu parried the ball into his path.
The Indians defended with heart but were punished for errors in their own half of the field.
Australian bagged an insurance goal through substitute Bos, who netted with his first touch of the game after coming off the bench. The 21-year-old striker nearly doubled his tally a couple of minutes later but he pulled his shot on the left foot with a strike that missed the target.
India will hope to turn their fortunes around in their upcoming AFC Asian Cup game against Uzbekistan on the 18th of January in their second game. They will finish out their group stage campaign against Syria on the 23rd of January as they look to seal progress despite the early setback in the tournament.
Australia, on the other hand, will take on Syria on the 18th and will polish off their group games against Uzbekistan on the third gameday at the continental contest.
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